Lillie's Journey Book 1: Norzen
by 98 Percent Insane
Summary: Lillie is on her very own Pokemon journey with her very first Pokemon! She's traveled to a distant region to challenge the League there, and she plans on bringing home the gold and, more importantly, bonding with her new Pokemon. If you like this story, be sure to check out the other two in the series: Gladion's Journey and Catherine's Journey!
1. Chapter 1

_**Snowy**_

Lillie sat by her mother's side through the process like she always did. Every morning for five years, she sat by Lusamine as she laid in a steel chamber and had energy siphon out whatever was left inside of her by the Ultra Beast, Nihilego. Five years ago, Lusamine and the Beast had fused together, but were defeated by Lillie's friend, Catherine, and her other friend, Solgaleo… No. Nebby.

It was a painful process that Lusamine had to go through every morning. She was somewhat used to it by now after five years, but she still screamed nonetheless. Lillie couldn't bare to hear her mother scream like that, but still she sat beside her. "It's okay, mother." Lillie said quietly, reaching out to touch the window of the steel chamber. "It'll be okay."

The process stopped after ten minutes. The other person in the room, Bill, stood up from his control panel and went to the second chamber that was connected to Lusamine's. Inside it was some sort of clear plasma: the essence of Nihilego. It morphed and struggled to break out of the chamber. Bill went over and pressed a button. The chamber with the essence was suddenly filled with an extreme heat, and soon the essence was no more. Completely disintegrated.

Five years they had been going through this process and still they were no closer to healing Lusamine than they were at the start. Somehow, no matter how much of Nihilego they drained out of her, more remained. More always remained.

"We just have to keep trying." Bill said helplessly. "Eventually, we're going to get it all out of her. She'll be better again."

Lillie nodded. Bill opened up Lusamine's chamber and Lillie helped her step out into a waiting wheelchair. Lillie wheeled Lusamine to her bedroom in Bill's house. "It's not getting better, is it?"

Lillie was surprised to hear her mother talk. Lusamine rarely spoke. Lillie didn't think she even had the strength to do so half the time. "No, mother," Lillie said. "it _is_ getting better. I know it is." Lillie wheeled her mother up to her bed and helped her under the covers. "Get some rest." Lillie said encouragingly. She left the room and turned out the lights so her mother could sleep.

Honestly, Lillie wasn't sure if things were getting better or not. She just had to keep hoping that they were and that things would work out. She wished she could take her mother back home to Aether Paradise. To Alola where her old friends Hau and Catherine were…

 _Catherine…_

Lillie shook her head. She suddenly realized she was blushing. She didn't really know why that was. Her thoughts were jarred by Bill calling her from down the hall. "Hey, Lillie, you've got a call on the video phone!"

A call? From who? It might be Hau. He called practically every day. Or it could be Catherine. She hardly ever had the time to talk to Lillie, what with her duties as Champion and all. Still, Lillie would be happy to see whoever was on the phone.

"Hey there, cousin!" A man with tan skin, black hair, and no shirt was on the other end of the call.

"Prof. Kukui!" Lillie said excitedly. She always loved it when the professor and his wife, Prof. Burnet, called her. They were like second parents to Lillie after all they had done for her back in Alola. "Where's Prof. Burnet?"

"She couldn't be here." Prof. Kukui said a little sadly. "She did tell me to tell you she missed you, though! But she's got some business up at the Dimensional Research Lab today, yeah. Sorry, kiddo."

"It's okay." Lillie said. "How are-"

"Catherine and Hau are doing great!" Prof. Kukui replied, anticipating the question. "They're both training real hard, yeah, and they're really hoping to see you again soon!"

"Great!"

Prof. Kukui rubbed the back of his head. "Listen, Lillie, here's the reason why I called. Prof. Burnet and I have been planning, to, well, give you something, yeah, when the time seemed right. Course, the time never really seemed right with your mom and all, but we've decided it's time to give it to you now anyways!"

Lillie was surprised to say the least. "What is it?" Prof. Kukui smiled and pressed a button. On the pad in front of the TV phone, a light shined and from it materialized a Pokeball. "A Pokeball?" Lillie said. "Wait… Does that mean…"

"Lillie, Prof. Burnet and I have been chatting, and we thought it was time you finally got a Pokemon to call your very own."

Lillie was thrilled. Ever since her adventures with Catherine and Hau five years ago, she had been wanting to become a trainer, but helping her mother get better had always been her first priority. She took the Pokeball and tossed it in the air. "Come on out!" She said excitedly.

The Pokeball popped open and out came a little white fox with six tails as fluffy as little clouds: an Alolan Vulpix. "Vul?" The little Pokemon said, surprised to see its new trainer.

"Oh, it's beautiful!" Lillie exclaimed. "Thank you so much, Prof. Kukui!"

"Hey, don't thank me." He said. "This was all Burnet. She knew how much you wanted to become a trainer after what happened all those years ago, yeah, so she went looking for the perfect Pokemon to give you. Caught it right near the base of Mt. Lanakila: one of the most sacred spots in Alola." Lillie was beyond words to express how much joy she felt right now. She looked down at her new Pokemon, her eyes brimming with tears of joy. "You can give it a nickname too if you want, oh yeah!"

Lillie thought for a moment to come up with the perfect nickname. Finally, she got it. "I'll call him Snowy." She said.

Prof. Kukui smiled. "And there's one other thing we got you. This one's from me, yeah. I got a hot tip from the higher-ups in the Pokemon League offices."

"What hot tip?" Lillie asked.

Prof. Kukui grinned. "One region!" He said. "Eight Gyms! And you're gonna beat 'em all!"

"One region? Eight Gyms?" Lillie was confused. She knew that most regions in the world that had Pokemon Leagues had a requirement of gaining eight Badges from eight different Gyms before a trainer could challenge the League, but Alola didn't have Gyms, and there was no way Lillie was going to even attempt the League here in Kanto. They were way too tough for her. So, what region could the professor be talking about?

"See, my hot tip was that this region up north called Norzen, oh yeah, had only just recently started its own Pokemon League." Prof. Kukui explained. "Their first conference tournament is just a little ways away, so you'd better get your butt moving down there if you wanna be able to take them on, oh yeah! I already sent Bill a plane ticket for you."

Lillie was suddenly a little let down. "I'm sorry, professor, but I don't think I can do that." She said sadly. "I just can't leave my mother in the condition she's in."

Prof. Kukui looked like he understood, but he smiled still. "Don't worry, Lillie. I talked it all out with your mom already."

"You… You talked to my mother?" Lillie asked.

"You should go, Lillie…" Lillie turned to see her mother out of bed and in her wheelchair. She didn't know how long Lusamine had been sitting there watching her.

"Mother?"

Lusamine wheeled herself closer to Lillie and took her hands. Her grip was weak, but comforting. "You should go." She said. "Go to Norzen. Go all over the world and be the best trainer you can be. You need to do this. You can be just like your brother, or Catherine. Maybe one day, you'll even be able to beat me in a battle too."

Lillie wasn't even sure her mother could battle in the state she was in. "But… I can't just leave you." Lillie said.

Lusamine smiled. "I'll be fine." She said. "I'm getting better day by day, and I'll keep getting better even without my little flower sitting next to me every day. Go. Go be the best trainer you can possibly be."

Lillie's eyes welled up with tears. She wasn't sure if they were from joy or sadness, but she still managed to smile. "I will, mother." She said. "I'll do it."

"Oh yeah!" Lillie jumped. She had forgotten that Prof. Kukui was still on the video phone. "Go get 'em, Lillie, oh yeah!" He said encouragingly. "Me and Burnet will be with you all the way! And, hey, maybe one day you'll think about challenging the Alolan Pokemon League, yeah?"

Lillie smiled. "Thank you, professor! I will!" She shut off the video phone and bent down to Snowy, her new Pokemon. "Well, Snowy, are you ready to go?" Snowy responded by blasting Lillie in the face with Ice Beam, freezing her head solid.

"Oh, my!" Bill rushed forward with an Ice Heal and unfroze Lillie's head. "You'll have to be careful with that little guy." He said. "Sometimes higher level Pokemon have a hard time obeying new trainers."

"D-d-don't worry about me." Lillie said, her teeth still chattering from the cold. "I'm sure by the end of our journey we'll be best friends. Right, Snowy?"

Snowy responded with another Ice Beam attack.

Three hours and a lot of Ice Heals later, Lillie was all packed and was in a cab ready to take her to the airport. She had packed extra warm clothes, not just because of Norzen's cold climate, but also in case Snowy decided to act up again. All the Ice attacks aside, Lillie still let Snowy stay outside his Pokeball. She would probably have to put him back in for the plane ride, but for now she just wanted to spend as much time with her Pokemon as she could. She just knew, soon, she and Snowy would be partners through and through. Just like her brother and Silvally, or just like Catherine and her Pokemon.

 _Just like Catherine…_

…

"That the girl?"

"Yep. Spoiled little princess."

Little did Lillie know, two figures were watching her from a black car down the road. One, the man, had slick, greased up black hair in a 1950's hairdo. The other, the woman, had long, curly, red hair that went down to her waist. They both wore matching black uniforms with a red letter R emblazoned on their chests.

"We capture her and that Pokemon, we can get a pretty big ransom from her old lady." The man said.

The woman grinned maliciously. "She'd better prepare for trouble." The man grinned too as they drove off after Lillie.

"And make it double."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Sun and Moon**_

"I told you it would be over here!"

"All right. Whatever. You were right. Can we just get our stuff and go now?"

"Oh, quit being so grumpy all the time! You need to lighten up!"

"Whatever."

Two trainers were walking through the airport in Lillelv Town in Norzen trying to find baggage claim. One of the trainers was a girl with long, blonde hair, tan skin, and was wearing a purple jacket over a pink top and jeans. The other was a boy with shaggy, black hair that was probably died that way, pale skin, and was wearing a black hoodie and torn-up jeans.

"I already hate this region. The boy said. "It's cold, there's hardly any light, and all the people here are either fat or stupid." The boy sighed. "Johto's way better."

The girl smacked the boy gently in the shoulder. "Oh, come on, Ross!" She exclaimed annoyed. "You can't judge a book by its cover and you can't judge a place by its people! Who knows? This region could be really fun to be in!"

The boy rolled his eyes. "You're too optimistic, Ivy." Ross said. "Look, here's baggage claim."

Ross and Ivy approached the conveyor belt to collect their luggage. As Ross grabbed his bag from the belt, he accidentally bumped into a girl with long, blonde hair wearing a white jacket and white pants. She also had a snow white fox Pokemon beside her. "Oh, sorry." He said.

"It's all right." Lillie replied as she too picked up her bag off the conveyor belt. "Um, if it's not too much trouble, could you tell me where the shuttle is that goes to the Pokemon lab here in town?"

"Sure!" Ivy said. "We were actually heading that way too if you want to follow us."

"Thank you! That would be great!" Lillie said.

"Vul." Said her Pokemon partner, Snowy.

"Ohhh, what a cute little Pokemon!" Ivy exclaimed. "What is it?"

"An Alolan Vulpix." Lillie explained. "His name is Snowy."

"Aww, that's so cute!" Ivy said, bending down to rub Snowy's head. "Hi there, Snowy!"

"Vuuuuuul!" Snowy responded by firing an Ice Beam attack at Ivy, who just barely moved out of the way of it.

"Sorry." Lillie said sheepishly. "He, um, isn't exactly very trained yet."

"Oh, it's fine." Ivy said. "I remember when I got my first Pokemon. Boy, was she a handful. I'm Ivy, by the way. This is my friend, Ross."

"S'up?" Ross said.

"I'm Lillie." Lillie said. "It's very nice to meet you both!"

"So, what brings you to the frozen nightmare that is Norzen?" Ross asked.

"I'm here to compete in the Pokemon League!" Lillie replied.

"Hey, that's what Ross is doing too!" Ivy said. "Maybe the two of you will wind up competing against each."

"Maybe." Lillie said, a little nervous about already possibly having a rival. "What about you, Ivy? What brings you to Norzen?"

"She's a Pokemon Coordinator." Ross explained.

"Yep!" Ivy replied. "I'm here for the Contests!"

They reached the terminal for the shuttle that would take them to the Pokemon lab. The shuttle wasn't there yet, so they still had some time to talk. "So, do you two have Pokemon already?" Lillie asked.

Ivy nodded. "Yep! I have a-"

Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by a net launching from out of nowhere and wrapping around Snowy. "Vuuuul!" The little Vulpix cried out as it was pulled up into the air.

"Snowy!" Lillie yelled in panic. "What's happening?!"

Snowy was lifted up to the roof of the airport terminal where, on top of it, two figures stood chuckling evilly. One was a woman with long, curly, red hair. The other was a man with a greased up 1950's-esque hairdo. Both of them wore the same black uniform with a red R on the front.

"Prepare for trouble." The woman said in a sultry Southern accent.

"And make it double." Said the man in a more New York-ish dialect.

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Allison."

"And Clay."

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Who are you people?!" Lillie yelled.

"We're Team Rocket, girlie." The woman named Allison said.

"Yeah! And we're taking your Pokemon!" Said the man named Clay.

"No! Please! Give him back!" Lillie begged.

"Not a chance!" Allison said. "Clay, you got our escape ready?"

"Sure do." Clay pulled out a remote and pressed a button. From behind the airport terminal, a large hot air balloon appeared. Clay climbed up a ladder to get in the basket, but before Allison could follow him with the captured Snowy…

"Go, Espeon! Use Psybeam!"

"Umbreon, come out and use Shadow Ball!"

Both Ivy and Ross tossed out Pokeballs, and from them appeared their own Pokemon: an Espeon and an Umbreon respectively. Ivy's Espeon fired a Psybeam attack to hit the net Snowy was captured in and free it, while Ross' Umbreon fired a Shadow Ball that hit Team Rocket's balloon, sending it and the two evil team members crashing to the ground. Snowy, meanwhile, was falling fast after being freed from the net.

"Vuuuuul!" It cried out as it fell.

"I've got you, Snowy!" Lillie ran over and dived, catching Snowy just before he hit the ground. "Thank goodness! You're safe!"

"Hey!" Lillie turned to the wreckage of Team Rocket's balloon. From underneath the wreckage, Clay popped out, looking extremely angry. "You dorks shouldn't have done that!"

Allison popped out too. "You stupid kids mussed up my hair!" She growled. "Ohhh, you'll pay for that!" Both of them pulled Pokeballs from their belts and tossed them out. "Marowak, make them pay!" Allison exclaimed.

"Raichu, pound 'em to pieces!" Clay yelled.

A Marowak and a Raichu appeared from the Pokeballs Team Rocket had thrown out. Both Pokemon looked ready for battle. "Marowak!" the Marowak yelled angrily.

"Rai rai!" Raichu growled, its cheeks sparking with electricity. Lillie was surprised. Despite living in Kanto for five years, she had never seen the Kantonian forms of these Pokemon. Normally, she would have been fascinated, but right now she was just nervous.

Ivy, Ross, and their own Pokemon ran up next to Lillie. "We've got your back, Lillie!" Ivy said.

"Yeah! Let's take them down!" Ross exclaimed.

Lillie was touched that her new friends were willing to help her in this battle. She set Snowy down. "You ready for your first battle, Snowy?" Lillie asked.

"Vul!" Snowy said confidently, turning to face its opponents.

"All right then!" Lillie exclaimed. "Use Ice Beam on that Marowak!"

"Vuuulpiiiiiix!" Snowy yelled as it fired Ice Beam at Allison's Marowak.

"Marowak, block that attack with your bone!" Allison commanded.

"Maro!" Marowak used its bone to shield itself from the Ice attack.

"Now attack with Rock Tomb!"

Marowak summoned from the air around it several large rocks, then threw them at Snowy.

"Espeon, protect Snowy with Grass Knot!" Ivy commanded.

"Espeeeeeon!" Espeon charged the ground with Psychic energy, causing a large plant vine to sprout up in front of Snowy and block some of the rocks, but not all of them.

"Snowy, look out!" Lillie cried out as the rocks kept heading straight for Snowy.

"Vul!" Snowy glowed bright blue and sent out a wave of Psychic energy, destroying the rest of the rocks.

"Whoa!" Lillie exclaimed. "What attack was that?"

"I think it was Extrasensory." Ross observed. "Umbreon, use Assurance!"

Ross' Umbreon rushed forward, and struck Allison's Marowak with its paw which was charged with Dark energy. Marowak went sliding back a few feet.

"Maro!" It said angrily.

"Raichu, hit that Umbreon with Brick Break!" Clay commanded.

"Raichuuuu!" Raichu yelled as it rushed Ross' Umbreon, its fist glowing white.

"Use Quick Attack to dodge it!" Ross shouted. Umbreon used that attack's extra speed to move out of the way of Raichu's attack.

"Snowy, use Extrasensory on Raichu!" Lillie commanded. Snowy didn't listen to her, though. Instead, it charged Raichu, faked an attack to the left, then struck it hard, sending it flying backwards.

"Feint Attack? Seriously?" Clay exclaimed angrily. "Oh, you're gonna get it now!"

Lillie wasn't sure why Snowy hadn't listened to her. She remembered what Prof. Kukui had said about higher level Pokemon sometimes not listening to their trainers. "Snowy, use Ice Beam!" Lillie exclaimed, hoping this time Snowy would listen to her. It didn't, though. Instead, it rushed at Allison's Marowak, trying to use Feint Attack again.

"Marowak, use Flamethrower!" Allison commanded. Marowak grinned, letting Snowy get in close before blasting it with a super-effective Fire attack. Snowy was sent flying backwards.

"Vuuuuuuul!" Snowy cried as it got scorched and shot backwards by Flamethrower.

"Snowy!" Lillie quickly ran up and caught Snowy, cradling the poor, injured Pokemon in her arms. "Oh, no…" She whimpered, looking down sadly at her Pokemon.

"Vul…" Snowy said weakly.

Ivy and Ross turned angrily on Allison and Clay. "Time to finish this!" Ivy declared. "Espeon, use Psybeam!"

"Umbreon, use Shadow Ball!"

Both of their Pokemon charged up their attacks, then blasted them at Marowak and Raichu. Marowak and Raichu were sent flying back and crashed into their trainers. "Again!" Ivy and Ross yelled simultaneously. Espeon and Umbreon attacked again, causing an explosion that sent Allison, Clay, and their Pokemon flying.

"We won't forget this, you dorks!" Allison yelled as she and Clay flew through the air.

"Yeah! You'd better watch your backs!" Clay shouted. The two Team Rocket members blasted off through the air until they vanished in the sky.

The shuttle to the Pokemon lab pulled up. The driver noticed the wreckage from Team Rocket's balloon. "Whoa! What happened here?" He asked.

Lillie, Ivy, Ross, and their Pokemon all boarded the shuttle. "Please! Take us somewhere that can help my Pokemon!" Lillie cried, holding the injured Snowy close in her arms.

"Boy, he doesn't look too good." I driver said, looking down at Snowy. "I know exactly where to take you." The shuttle took off for the Lillelv Town Pokemon lab, and Lillie could only pray that they would be able to reach it in time to help her precious Snowy.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Nutty**_

"It's gonna be okay, Lillie. Snowy's going to be all right."

As the shuttle to the Lillelv Town Pokemon laboratory rumbled along the road, Lillie cradled her injured Pokemon, Snowy, in her arms. The poor little fox Pokemon had been hit by a super effective Fire attack and was just barely conscious. Lillie couldn't believe that, in her first real Pokemon battle, she had let her Pokemon get this injured.

"We're almost there." Her new friend, Ivy, kept saying encouragingly. "Just a few more minutes and we'll be able to get Snowy some help."

"I sure hope so." Lillie said worriedly. She had always hated watching Pokemon get hurt, but now that it was her Pokemon… She just prayed they would reach the laboratory in time.

The shuttle suddenly slowed to a stop. "Last stop: Lillelv Pokemon Laboratory." The driver said.

Lillie quickly rushed off the shuttle, holding Snowy close to her. "Hang on, Snowy!" She said. "It's just up ahead!"

"Vul…" Snowy said weakly. Lillie ran through the doors to the Pokemon lab, only to stop in surprise, as the inside of the lab was not what she expected it to be.

The place was a mess. Research papers were thrown everywhere, there were various stains on the machines in the lab from drink and food spills, and for some reason the whole place smelled strangely like chocolate. In one corner of the room, there was a rather short woman in a lab coat with frizzy, grey hair and large, coke bottle lens glasses digging through a filing cabinet, tossing various papers out of it. "Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?" She said hurriedly. She turned to shout at the back of the lab. "Does anyone know where that paper on the Ruins of Kau is?"

An assistant came from the back of the lab and picked up one of the papers the lab coat wearing woman had already tossed out of the cabinet. "Is this what you're looking for, Prof. Heather?"

The woman called Prof. Heather turned and grabbed the paper out of the assistant's hand. "Yes!" She shouted victoriously. "Thank you, wonderful boy! You get a promotion!"

"I'm already your head lab assistant." The assistant said.

"Excuse me?" Lillie said.

"Then you get a raise!" Prof. Heather declared. "Effective immediately!"

"Excuse me?" Lillie said a little bit louder.

"Professor, if you pay me any more, you won't have any money left for your research." The assistant said.

"Fine! Then you get-"

"Excuse me!" Lillie yelled, turning red after she realized how loud she was just then. Prof. Heather and her assistant stopped arguing and noticed Lillie. "Um… Hello." Lillie said awkwardly. "Sorry to interrupt you, but-"

"Ah, are you my new intern?" Prof. Heather asked, rushing up to get a closer look at Lillie. "You can get started by organizing my papers. If you can't find a place for anything, the floor will do just fine."

"I'm not an intern." Lillie said. She presented Snowy to the professor. "My Pokemon got hurt. Can you please heal it?"

"My, my. An Alolan Vulpix." Prof. Heather said. "A very rare specimen, indeed. Would you mind if I studied it? It would only take about a month or so."

"No. Please, just heal him!" Lillie pleaded.

The assistant ran over to take Snowy. "Don't worry, miss. I'll take care of it." He said. He then ran off to the back of the lab to take care of Snowy.

Ivy and Ross entered the lab and rushed over to Lillie. "Lillie, did you get Snowy taken care of?" Ivy asked.

Lillie smiled. "Yes. Everything's going to be just fine." She replied, silently thanking Arceus that they had made it to the lab in time.

"Ah, you must be my new intern!" Prof. Heather said to Ivy. "You can get started by organizing my papers. If you can't find a place for anything, the floor will do just fine."

"Excuse me?" Ivy said. "I'm not an intern."

Prof. Heather frowned, then turned to Ross. "Ah, then _you_ must be my new intern." She said. "You can get started by organizing my papers. If you can't find a place for anything-"

"The floor will do just fine. Yeah, I heard. And I'm not an intern." Ross said. He turned to Lillie and Ivy with a look that said "Is this lady nuts, or what?"

"Well, if none of you are my new intern, then what are you doing here?" Prof. Heather asked.

"We just arrived in the Norzen region," Ivy explained politely, "and we were hoping to get some new Pokemon for our journey."

"Ohhhhh, of course!" Prof. Heather said. "Come, come. Let me show you what Pokemon I have for you." Prof. Heather led them all to a back room in the lab. Lillie could see the assistant from earlier healing Snowy with a few Burn Heals and Super Potions. She breathed a sigh of relief knowing that her Pokemon was going to be okay. Prof. Heather collected a couple of Pokeballs from a shelf and turned back to Lillie, Ivy, and Ross. "There are three Pokemon that I present to new trainers to start them off on their journeys." She explained. "The first: the Fire type, Hooflare!"

Prof. Heather tossed one Pokeball in the air and from it came a horse-like Pokemon with orange fur, a yellow mane and tail, and rings of fire around its hooves. "Hooooof!" The Pokemon neighed.

"The second," Prof. Heather went on, "is the Water type, Pupuoy!"

Prof. Heather tossed the second Pokeball up and from that one came a Pokemon that looked like an adorable puppy with blue fur, a silver belly, and little rings around its legs that looked like water floaties. "Pup! Pup!" It barked happily.

"And the third," Prof. Heather continued, "is-"

"Hey! Prof. Heather!" The professor, Lillie, Ivy, and Ross were all startled by someone yelling at the front of the lab. They turned to see a boy storming up to the professor. "You can take back your stupid Pokemon!" He said angrily. "All this thing does is try to run away from me! It won't even battle anyone! It sucks!" He thrusted the Pokeball back into Prof. Heather's hands and stormed back out of the lab.

Prof. Heather stayed silent for a few moments before sighing and throwing up the Pokeball the boy had given her. "And the third," she said, "is the Grass type, Nuttree."

A squirrel-like Pokemon that had green fur, a pink belly, and an acorn clutched in its hands appeared from the ball. "Nuttree!" It said, sounding annoyed. The little Pokemon scurried away and hopped up on a high shelf, apparently trying to get away from everyone in the room.

"Why did that boy not want that Pokemon?" Lillie asked.

Prof. Heather sighed. "This particular Nuttree does not take kindly to humans. See, one of my old assistants took this Nuttree from the wild, accidentally taking it away from its family. Since then, every trainer it's had it's tried to escape from to go and find its family. It refuses to form a bond with any human that just wants to use it to battle."

Lillie frowned. How could a person just take a Pokemon away from its family? That wasn't right! And now the poor thing didn't even trust humans. Lillie couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor Pokemon. She got a determined expression on her face and approached the shelf that Nuttree was high up on. "Excuse me?" Lillie said to it, speaking in a kind voice. "I know you don't like humans, and it certainly wasn't fair for you to get taken away from your family, but how would you like to come with me and be my Pokemon?"

"Nut!" The Pokemon responded by blowing a raspberry at Lillie and turning its back on her.

"I promise I won't just use you to battle other trainers." Lillie went on. "If you want, I won't use you to battle at all. In fact, we can just focus on finding your family again."

That got the little squirrel Pokemon's attention. "Nut?" It said, turning around a little.

"I promise," Lillie went on, "I'll help you find your family again. I know how important family can be. So, I'll do everything I can to help you be reunited with yours. What do you say?"

Nuttree thought about it for a moment, then hopped down off its shelf and stood in front of Lillie. "Tree." It said, nodding its head. Lillie smiled.

"I promise you'll be reunited with your family soon." She said. "Would you mind if I gave you a name? Just for now until we find your family?"

"Tree." Nuttree said, nodding its head again.

Lillie thought for a moment, trying to think of the perfect name for her new partner. "Let's see…" She said. "I always did like the cute little chittering noises squirrels make. How about 'Chitter?'"

"Tree! Nuttree!" The Pokemon seemed to enjoy its new name.

Prof. Heather's eyes were brimming with tears. "Beautiful!" She cried. "Just beautiful! I can't believe you would be so kind as to help this little Pokemon find its home again!" Prof. Heather broke down sobbing, creating a bit of an awkward moment. Lillie didn't see her helping Chitter to find its family again as a great act of kindness. She just saw it as simple human decency. Helping Pokemon seemed like her duty now that she was a Pokemon trainer.

Finally, Prof. Heather quit crying and blew her nose on a piece of spare research paper. "So," she said, wiping her eyes and turning to Ivy and Ross, "what about the two of you?"

Ross examined the two Pokemon left over after Lillie's choice. "I'll take this one." He said, pointing to Hooflare. "A Fire type seems like a good match if I'm going to be challenging the Gyms here."

"Great!" Ivy said. "Because I wanted this one!" She picked up Pupuoy, who started likcing her face causing Ivy to giggle. "It's so cute! How could I not pick it?" Ivy pulled out her other Pokeball and threw it out, causing her Espeon to come out of it. "Pupuoy, meet your new friend, Espeon."

"Pup! Pup!" Pupuoy barked.

"Espeon." Espeon said kindly.

Ross followed Ivy's lead and called out his Umbreon for Hooflare to meet. "You two get along now." He advised them. "We're going to be winning lots of battles together."

"Umbre!" Umbreon said excitedly.

"Hoooooflare!" Hooflare neighed in agreement.

The lab assistant that was healing Snowy brought the little fox Pokemon over to Lillie. "Miss, your Pokemon's all healed." He said, handing Snowy to Lillie.

"Oh! Thank you so much!" Lillie said gratefully. She took Snowy and set him down in front of Chitter. "Chitter, meet your new friend, Snowy." She said.

"Nuttree!" Chitter said happily, reaching out a paw to greet Snowy.

"Vuuuuuuul!" Snowy said, blasting Chitter with an Ice Beam attack and freezing it solid.

"Oh, my!" Lillie exclaimed, quickly getting out an Ice Heal for Chitter. "I'm so sorry, Chitter! Snowy, you should know better!"

"Vul." Snowy said, not sounding particularly guilty at all.

"Nuttree! Tree tree!" Chitter yelled at Snowy, shaking its fist angrily at him.

"Oh! There's one more thing you kids will need for your journeys!" Prof. Heather exclaimed. She went over to a box on a shelf and pulled out three small, pink handheld computer devices. "A Pokedex!" She handed them out to each of the three trainers. "I programmed this model myself." She said proudly. "I call it a Heatherdex!"

Lillie turned her Heatherdex on. It immediately scanned Chitter. "Nuttree: The Acorn Squirrel Pokemon. A Grass type. From birth, this Pokemon collects an acorn that it will keep with it for the rest of its life."

"Wow! That's amazing!" Lillie exclaimed.

Ivy and Ross scanned their Pokemon too. "Hooflare: The Fire Hoof Pokemon." Ross' Heatherdex said. "A Fire type. Hooflare uses its fiery hooves to attack anyone or anything it considers a threat."

"Pupuoy: The Floating Dog Pokemon." Ivy's Heatherdex said. "A Water type. The small rings around Pupuoy's legs allow it to float gently on any body of water. It will never sink."

"You can talk to it too, you know." Prof. Heather advised them. "Go ahead! Try it!"

"Oh. Okay." Lillie said. She turned to her Heatherdex. "Hello, Heatherdex. My name's Lillie."

"Nice to meet you, Larry!" The Heatherdex replied.

"Um, no. My name isn't-"

"Hi, Larry! Hi, Larry! Hi, Larry!" The Heatherdex went on excitedly.

"You say you programmed these things yourself?" Ross asked Prof. Heather, putting his own Heatherdex away without bothering to talk to it.

Prof. Heather smiled proudly. "Wonderful little things, aren't they?" She said.

"Er… Yes, they are." Lillie said politely as her Heatherdex continued to say "Hi, Larry!"

The three trainers left the lab happily with their new Pokemon. Lillie turned to Ivy and Ross. "Well, I guess this is where we part ways." She said.

Ivy and Ross looked at each other. "We don't have to." Ross said.

"Yeah! Why don't you travel with us?" Ivy asked. "I mean, we've already been through a lot together. Battling Team Rocket, getting our first new Pokemon in this region…"

"Yeah. Plus, whenever I need a laugh, I can just listen to your Heatherdex call you Larry." Ross added.

Lillie was touched. She remembered travelling with Catherine and Hau on their own Pokemon journeys five years ago in Alola. It would definitely be fun to have some new friends to travel with this time too on her Pokemon journey. "Sure!" Lillie said. "I'll travel with you guys!"

"Great!" Ivy said. "Let's rest up at the Pokemon Center here in town, then tomorrow we can all register for the Pokemon League and Contests and set out!"

Lillie smiled. AS she and her new friends walked together to the Pokemon Center in Lillelv Town, she could already tell that her own Pokemon journey was going to be truly amazing!


End file.
